{"id":17882,"date":"2016-03-22T16:53:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=17882"},"modified":"2016-03-22T16:53:46","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:53:46","slug":"the-harris-anprc-158-costs-the-us-govt-roughly-200000-per-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/the-harris-anprc-158-costs-the-us-govt-roughly-200000-per-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"The Harris AN\/PRC-158 costs the US gov’t roughly $200,000 per radio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Harris<\/a>

Harris AN\/PRC-158 multichannel transceiver (Source: Harris Corp. via Motley Fool)<\/p><\/div>\n

(Source: The Motley Fool<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Is the U.S. Army Really Spending $12.7 Billion on Radios?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The U.S. government spends a lot of money on weapons. So much money, in fact, that sometimes, you see a number and think, “That can’t be right. But then again, maybe.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I had one of those moments<\/a> last week, when the Department of Defense reported that it had just awarded three contractors a $12.7 billion contract to supply it with radios. That number couldn’t be right. And in fact, since the exact dollar figure on the contract read “$12,725,724,536,” I thought it was more likely a typo. Someone was data-entering the number for a $12.7 million radio contract, mistyped the “thousands” place, retyped it, and forgot to delete the original entry.<\/em><\/p>\n

But it wasn’t a typo.<\/em><\/p>\n

And the Pentagon really is spending $12.7 billion on radios.<\/em><\/p>\n

$500 toilet seats are so 1980s
\n<\/strong>That’s a whole lot of moola to spend on what’s likely to work out to about 65,000 radios — roughly $200,000 per set. Granted, the value of the award also includes the cost of “accessories and related services” relevant to the radios.[…]<\/em><\/p>\n

Continue reading at The Motley Fool online…<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the\u00a0Harris Falcon III\u00a0AN\/PRC-158?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wanting to know a little more about the\u00a0Harris Falcon III\u00a0AN\/PRC-158 Multi-channel Manpack (MCMP), I checked out Harris’ product page<\/a>. Here’s the provided description:<\/p>\n

TYPE 1 Security in a Versatile Two-Channel Manpack<\/strong><\/em>
\n The Harris Falcon III\u00ae<\/sup> AN\/PRC-158 Multi-channel Manpack (MCMP) is a modular two-channel manpack radio that covers the full 30-2500 MHz frequency range in a form factor 30% smaller than similar products.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hosting a wide variety of Software Communications Architecture (SCA) narrowband and wideband waveforms, each of the AN\/PRC-158’s two channels can be used to transmit and receive simultaneously. The radio can also connect different nets and sub-nets for both voice and data using its embedded routing and cross-banding capabilities. Plus the AN\/PRC-158 incorporates fully integrated MUOS-capable hardware into the standard radio. This eliminates the logistical complexity of Power Amplifier appliqu\u00e9 change-outs, as well as the cost and weight burden of an additional module.<\/em><\/p>\n

Key Benefits<\/strong>:<\/em><\/p>\n